North Division mourns the sudden death of Principal Keith Carrington at age 48

North Division High School Principal Keith Carrington died Monday afternoon at age 48, three days after asking for prayers before he headed to a hospital.

His wife, Tanzanique Carrington, said he started feeling sick last Monday, the first day of school, because of an infected ulcer. He had surgery Saturday and was recovering well in the hospital when he got sick again Monday, started having trouble breathing and died unexpectedly.

Tanzanique said her husband had a blood clot or heart attack, and she wasn't sure if it was related to the surgery. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office reported he died of natural causes at Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Milwaukee. Tanzanique said she didn't ask for an autopsy.

"Words cannot express how I feel with the sudden loss of my soulmate, my best friend, my everything," Tanzanique posted on Facebook Monday night.

In less than 24 hours after her post, hundreds of students, parents and others posted condolences and memories of Carrington as a dedicated mentor and friend. They sent Tanzanique screenshots of conversations they had with him, showing how much he checked in on them.

"It's just been immense," Tanzanique said in an interview. "So much outpouring from young people who said, 'If it wasn't for Mr. Carrington I wouldn't have finished school, if it wasn't for Mr. Carrington I wouldn't be the person I am today.'"

Tanzanique, who is a principal at Morse Middle School, said she had just been laughing and talking with her husband and had expected him to come home from the hospital today.

Keith Carrington and Tanzanique met at a bank and then built careers in education

Keith was born in Dallas and moved to Milwaukee when he was about 8, Tanzanique said.

They met each other in 1994 while Tanzanique was a bank teller and Keith was a customer. He kept returning to her window at the bank and finally asked her out.

"He was like, 'I find you very attractive. Will you go for a walk in the park with me?'" Tanzanique remembered. "And he caught me on a good day because I said yes."

On a walk in Estabrook Park, him being 20 and her being 21, they both talked about how they wanted to build a place for young people in the city, to "be that pillar of education in Milwaukee."

They both graduated from UWM and worked as teaching assistants in Milwaukee Public Schools, then worked their way up. He got a master's degree from Alverno College.

They married and had their daughter, Cairee, who is 24.

"He completely doted on me and our daughter," Tanzanique said. "There wasn't anything that I ever had to worry about because he just took care of everything."

Keith and Tanzanique celebrated their 25-year anniversary in July. Both posted about their love for each other on Facebook.

"What can I say? She has been my best friend for almost 28 years. We have laughed, cried, made each other mad, but we are still here," Keith wrote, adding: "You are my world."

Keith Carrington was an educator, mentor, and Fiserv Forum fixture

After working for about two decades as a paraprofessional, special-education teacher, assistant principal and principal at other MPS schools, Keith Carrington became the principal at North Division in 2016.

"I truly love what I do," he wrote on the school website. "It gives me great joy to see students grow throughout their time in school."

As an additional part-time job, Carrington was a security supervisor for the Bradley Center and Fiserv Forum. The family spent last Christmas at a Bucks game — Carrington working and his wife and daughter in the stands.

Carrington also spent summers mentoring young people at Marquette University's National Youth Sports Program, and also led a mentoring program for young men through his fraternity.

At North Division, Tanzanique said Keith was determined to make the campus a "school of choice" again. He built up programs at the school to help students get internships in information technology and become certified nursing assistants.

The Carringtons lived less than a mile away from North Division. Students would often catch him on his porch enjoying a cigar.

"They would always be like, 'I can't believe you live in the hood,'" Tanzanique said. "It kind of gave him street cred that they could actually see him as part of the community."

He was the kind of principal who could have fun with the students, Tanzanique said. A lifelong Cowboys fan, he made a bet with students soon after he started as principal at North Division. If the Packers beat the Cowboys, he would wear Packers gear to the school.

The next day, there he was in a green and gold jacket. "I'm a man of my word," he said in a Facebook video. "Go, Pack, Go."

Amy Mizialko, president of the union for MPS staff, said Carrington was "well loved and respected" by North Division students and staff with a "constant positive presence and commitment."

"Principal Carrington worked hard every day for students and was a staunch supporter of the community school model, arts education, and student organizing," Mizialko said. "MTEA members at North Division and throughout MPS deeply mourn his passing and send our deepest condolences to Principal Carrington's family."

Laticia Parker, whose 17-year-old son Darrick Royal went to North Division, said Carrington kept in touch with Royal even when he transferred to another school.

"He was still a mentor to my child," Parker said in an interview. "Mr. Carrington kept telling him, you can do it, you can make it. He stayed on Darrick; it was amazing."

Carrington continued to check in on the family into the new school year, Parker said, recently calling to see how Darrick was feeling, whether he had eaten and if there was anything he could do to help.

"My heart is just really breaking, because he was really like one of the only supports we had," Parker said.

But because of the support Carrington has already given, Parker said she's confident her son will carry that with him.

"Because he did that, I know my son is going to make it," Parker said. "He said, 'Mama, I'm going to make Mr. Carrington proud.' That's what he told me yesterday.'"

Donations can go toward scholarships

In Keith's memory, Tanzanique suggested people could support scholarships for North Division students through the North Division High School Alumni Association.

The MPS Foundation also supports scholarships for North Division students and accepts donations online.

Contact Rory Linnane at rory.linnane@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: North Division mourns death of Principal Keith Carrington at age 48